3 Big Changes Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Make This Offseason
Let the irrational thinking begin now that the Toronto Maple Leafs are officially in the offseason.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were one of the most active teams at the NHL Trade Deadline, and as a result, many people thought it would create a different outcome. Instead, the team fell in seven games in the First Round, like they typically do.
In previous years, we could blame the opponent, the NHL rules or a hot goalie. Toronto had no business facing Boston in the First Round in their previous back-to-back Game 7 losses, but that’s how the chips fell, and the team lost a tough fought series.
Last year, the team faced a pandemic and after a five-month layoff, took the Columbus Blue Jackets to five games, before ultimately losing.
This year was supposed to be a little different. After finishing the regular season as one of the best teams in the NHL, the Leafs looked great heading into the playoffs. They had the best goal-scorer in the league, a much improved defense and a goalie we had faith in.
Four games into the series, we felt a sense of relief. The Leafs were up 3-1 and were in total control of the series. With three chances to win the series, there was no way this team was going to blow it.
And then the demons crept back in, and the unfortunate happened. The team came out flat three games in a row and couldn’t fully recover. Instead of securing their first playoff win since 2004, they lost in seven games to their long-time rival, Montreal Canadiens.
The wound is still fresh, so maybe I’m thinking irrationally, but something big needs to happen this offseason. Whether that’s a trade, firing or signing, something needs to change in this organization, because they cannot allow that same garbage to transpire one more time.
Here are three big changes the Toronto Maple Leafs need to make this offseason.
No. 1: Fire Manny Malhotra
For those of you who think they should fire Sheldon Keefe after one full NHL season, you’re wrong. Keefe isn’t the issue, but instead, it’s the man who runs the powerplay.
The Toronto Maple Leafs powerplay was unbelievable to start the year. Everybody, including myself, was praising Manny Malhotra and the work he was doing. However, as time progressed, the same six teams they played started to figure them out and it went cold.
Ice cold.
The powerplay was essentially non-existent for the last two months of the season, and that unfortunately crept into the playoffs. In seven games against Montreal, the Leafs scored three goals on 23 opportunities, representing a 13 percent powerplay (stats: espn.com).
I know John Tavares got injured, but Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and company need to do better than that. Sure, you can put the onus on the players, but the powerplay barely changed during their cold-streak and into the playoffs.
The team kept doing the same plays and couldn’t generate any offense. The man in charge of the powerplay was Malhotra and he needs to get punished for that.
The top five teams in powerplay scoring in the playoffs all moved on in the First Round and it’s because of their ability to score on the man-advantage. If Toronto’s powerplay was mediocre it would have been good enough to beat Montreal, but instead, they couldn’t do anything.
As a result, Malhotra needs to be fired.
No. 2: Rethink “Veteran Presence”
The Toronto Maple Leafs addressed their veteran presence during the offseason and at the NHL Trade Deadline and every move they made backfired. Besides, Jason Spezza, who they should 100 percent resign, the rest of the squad disappointed.
Wayne Simmonds was signed to Toronto be a tough guy in the playoffs and bring that edge that we all love. He unfortunately did none of that against Montreal, while generating absolutely no offense.
Just like the rest of the world, I love Joe Thornton. He’s a fantastic interview and seems like a genuinely great guy. However, his playing days should be over. He looked so slow during the playoffs and although he did score once, he was non-existent in the playoffs.
Nick Foligno was another player who was supposed to be a perfect fit, but that never happened. You can blame injuries for that, but he didn’t do anything to help this team win. His fight in the first game was great, but it wasn’t necessary.
Overall, the “leaders” provided nothing and Toronto needs to rethink that philosophy. If they’re going to bring in veterans on a cheaper deal, they need to be able to play. If they can’t play, you may as well insert Entry Level Contracts (ELC) at the same price, because they’ll at least add some energy.
Adam Brooks should have played in this series over Joe Thornton. If the Leafs resign Thornton and Simmonds, it’ll be incredibly disappointing, so they need to rethink their thought process and have cheap deals on ELC’s instead of aging veterans.
No. 3: Trade Mitch Marner
Trading Mitch Marner is not the answer to the Toronto Maple Leafs problems. He’s one of the most gifted players in the NHL and is going to contend for an Art Ross Trophy year-after-year.
However, something has to give. To some, five years seems like an eternity, and to others, it’s just the beginning. With a $10.9M cap-hit, the Leafs could do a ton of things with that money.
As we’ve seen over the past two years, it’s tough to win when you’re relying on four guys for the bulk of the offense. Instead of using Marner’s contract on his services, why not grab two $4M wingers to play with Auston Matthews and a $3M third-liner?
As we’ve seen in recent years, leading the NHL is points is a pretty useless stat once the playoffs start. Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov are the three recent leaders in NHL scoring and none of their teams made it out of the First Round when they did so.
Also, having three players making over $10M is not working, as shown by the tweet by Pierre LeBrun below:
The Habs are the first team in the cap era to win a playoff round with a double digit AAV on the roster (Price). It had never happened before, but it was going to happen this year because of the North Division set-up.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 1, 2021
I wrote about this back on April 19:https://t.co/UOl1QXPDx2
It’s nice to have someone in the regular season to rely on, but when the playoffs start, you need your depth to step up.
The Boston Bruins top-line has been producing for them in the playoffs, but their three best players are making the same amount as Toronto’s two best. Boston has been able to share the wealth better throughout their roster and the Leafs need to understand that their philosophy isn’t working.
Auston Matthews is a generational talent and can carry the top-line all by himself. Unless this team moves on from John Tavares and William Nylander (which they will never do), then Marner can stay. However, until that happens, you could get a king’s ransom for him in a trade.
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This is probably all illogical thinking, but that’s the fun of being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. This team has had the same strategy for the past two years and it hasn’t worked under a different regime, so something has to give.